Educational Philosophy

Ones personal belief about education may change over time due to different situations. Presently my educational philosophy leans towards John Dewey’s Progressivism and Theodore Brameld’s Social Reconstructionism; they bear equal value within my fundamental beliefs about teaching. I believe that parents and teachers should guide their children throughout their education. I believe that as a democratic teacher, I should be knowledgeable about each students culture and historical experiences in order to meet each student needs appropriately.

My philosophy of education is a student -centered one. The main focus of the curriculum of Progressivism philosophy is flexible and integrates study of academic subjects around the needs, and the experiences of students. In order to offer my students the best possible education, I must be aware of their backgrounds and involve their parents, so we can work together for the common goal, the best education possible for each student. I believed  students should be involved in the decision making process in the classroom such as the planning of their field trips to teach them about History, Geography and even Natural Science courses which could seem very boring. I believe students are much more interested in something they have planned than things appointed by an adult, and they are given the opportunity to be responsible for their learning. The goal of this philosophy is to assist students better in becoming problem solvers, more socially aware citizens who would be prepared to live comfortably in the world.

I believe in Social Reconstructionism; which has a curriculum that focuses on social, political and economical needs; integrated study of academic subjects around socially meaning actions.  Although my role as a teacher is to provide authentic learning activities that both instruct students and improve society, students would also become great problem solvers, enjoy learning and not only to live in the world comfortably but also to help in it’s reshaping. My goal is to help my students to become the leaders of tomorrow. My goal as an aspiring teacher is to guide, facilitate and integrate learning activities so that students can find meaning in academically and accomplish their maximum potential.

Paulo Freire describes the traditional style of teaching and learning as the Banking Concept. He states that “students are the depositories and is the teacher depositor.” The information received is memorized and repeated by the students. I believe this concept could hinder a child’s learning and should not be present in the classroom. Students should be given options in the classroom and not be conformed to one learning style. I believe a classroom is an environment where students can learn to interact with other students and that every moment is a learning moment. “The principal goal of education is to create learners who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done. Learners are creative, inventive and discoverers. We need pupils who are active, who learn early to find out by themselves, partly by their own spontaneous activity and partly through material we set up for them; who learn to tell what is verifiable and what is simply the first idea to come to them” stated Jean Piaget. I agree with him, I believe that students should be challenged in order to expand their knowledge and keep learning as a fun activity which prepares them to be great problem solvers.

            Not only do I believe that a teacher is a skilled technician who can manage the learning of many students at once, but I also believe that a teacher can learn from their students. Each student learns differently and it is my responsibility teacher to know each students learning style and be able to differentiate my lesson plans to meet their needs. I believe that I as a democratic teacher should always try to implement the best practices in education in my classroom. I believe that I must keep abreast with the latest technology, so that I can integrate it in the classroom. Because New York City is a very diverse place, I would need to be multicultural. Sonia Nieto states “that every teacher should be literate about multiculturalism,” and I agree it is my responsibility to know my students, so I can serve them to the best of my ability. I believe that teachers should be accountable for what a student learns in the classroom. Every child has the ability to learn and it is up to me to make learning fun and interesting in order to maintain the students attention.

 I believe as a teacher my believes about learning and teaching would have an impact on students, so I should be open to change and always put students first. I believe that teachers should be committed to wanting to make a change in the lives of students. One way to fulfill this commitment is to develop a good and trusting relationship with the parents and students which would make my job as teacher easier. I would strive never to bash parents because they are just as important as the students. I believe that as a teacher I could make a difference and become a role model to our future scholars of tomorrow and I would us every experience as a learning one in order to give my very best.